Princess Syndrome - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Showdown

Ji Zhiyi was not a good person!

Su Lingyue sent this message to Chu Yi, her expression resentful. She turned her head to look at Ji Zhiyi a few times and scooted away in the car. Ji Zhiyi turned her head and saw her eyes burning in the dark car. She didn’t look at all like her usual calm self.

With a "ding,"

Her phone vibrated.

Chu Yi quickly asked: [What’s wrong? What’s wrong?]

Su Lingyue: [She threatened me!]

Chu Yi immediately called her. Su Lingyue didn't answer it and instead sent her a message: [It's not convenient to answer the phone right now.]

Chu Yi: [Is she beside you?]

Su Lingyue: [Yes.]

Chu Yi asked carefully: [Do you want me to call the police?]

Su Lingyue: ...

It wasn't that serious.

However, Chu Yi was alarmed. She felt that Su Lingyue was suffering too much. Ji Zhiyi was fine when she wasn’t acting, but when she did, she would always go all out. She sent Su Lingyue a crying emoji. Su Lingyue replied to her: [It's fine.]

How could everything be fine!

Today she had sent her messages with exclamation points twice! She had even been forced by Ji Zhiyi into acting like a normal person!

Although, acting normal was a good thing?

Was this using poison to fight poison?

However, Ji Zhiyi was too cruel!

Although Chu Yi wasn't constantly in contact with Su Lingyue, she was in contact with other people in the company. In the past, she had added the work accounts of many people from the branch office, and they had several groups. From what she had heard from them, Ji Zhiyi was targeting Su Lingyue. It had all been hearsay, but today she had finally ‘seen it for herself.’

Ji Zhiyi was really ruthless.

She had added fuel to the fire of this rumor.

Su Lingyue didn’t speak to Ji Zhiyi at all before arriving home. She acted as if she was the owner, and after getting out of the car, she quickly went to her apartment. Ji Zhiyi followed behind her, neither fast nor slow. After they got home, she didn't close the door. Su Lingyue stood at the entrance, hugging the cat, not even changing her shoes. The calico cat, who had been alone at home all day, was overjoyed to see someone, and was constantly meowing at Su Lingyue.

Su Lingyue was still trying to keep up her angry persona, but she couldn't.

She could only patiently coax the cat.

The cat whined and snuggled into her arms, its paws kneading her. Su Lingyue whispered, "Okay, okay, I’m holding you."

Ji Zhiyi, hearing her coaxing tone, looked up at her.

Su Lingyue turned her head and went to sit on the sofa.

She was getting angry.

Ji Zhiyi sat beside her. Su Lingyue, hugging the cat, turned her body away, playing with the cat. The cat jumped out of her arms, showered Ji Zhiyi’s hand with attention, and was constantly rubbing her head against her. Seeing that Ji Zhiyi wasn't touching it, it looked puzzled and meowed.

It seemed like it was anxious.

Ji Zhiyi deliberately didn't do what it wanted. She just wouldn't touch it. The cat meowed until Su Lingyue couldn't help but say, "Touch it, it’ll stop meowing."

Only after hearing Su Lingyue speak did Ji Zhiyi reach out and touch the cat.

The cat was satisfied.

It laid on her lap and began to purr.

Ji Zhiyi looked at her once clean pants, which were now covered in cat hair. She was a bit helpless. The cat was oblivious and, after being placed on the sofa by Ji Zhiyi, climbed onto her body, and Su Lingyue became jealous.

She had been hugging the cat the moment she returned.

It was actually so close with Ji Zhiyi!

Did it not think that Ji Zhiyi was scary?

Thinking this, she glanced at Ji Zhiyi. Ji Zhiyi was also looking at her. Their eyes met. Su Lingyue restrained her awkward expression and said, "I'm going to take a shower first."

Her expression was so natural, as if they were cohabitating neighbors.

Ji Zhiyi smiled.

She rubbed the cat’s head.

Su Lingyue returned to her room. She hadn't even looked for her clothes when Chu Yi called her. She walked to the door and looked out. Ji Zhiyi was still sitting on the sofa, looking at her phone and petting the cat. Her fingers, which were on the cat’s head, were slender and well-defined. She didn't wear many accessories. She had a light-colored bracelet on her wrist that fit perfectly, making her even more noble.

Chu Yi called out, "Lingyue?"

She came back to her senses: "Hm?"

Chu Yi said, "Where are you?"

Su Lingyue said, "At the apartment."

Then she asked Chu Yi: "What's wrong?"

What was wrong?

Chu Yi said, "I was worried."

She had been threatened!

How could she not be scared?

Su Lingyue said, "I'm fine, I'm doing well."

Chu Yi was suspicious, "You're really doing well?"

Su Lingyue said, "All my limbs are still intact."

"Don't say such scary things!" Chu Yi trembled. "Why don't you resign?"

After saying that, she felt conflicted, "It's just that Zhou Yan..."

Su Lingyue didn't like hearing that name. Her voice was a bit low: "Okay, I'm fine. She didn't do anything to me."

Chu Yi asked, "Or do you want me to come over and keep you company?"

Su Lingyue said, "Aren't you afraid of Ji Zhiyi?"

Chu Yi swallowed.

It wasn't like she hadn't met Ji Zhiyi before. She had seen her a few times when she had gone to Su Qi. To say that she wasn't scared would be a lie.

She was clearly just a normal person with two eyes and one nose.

But when she stood there looking at her, she still felt afraid.

Su Lingyue said, "Even if you weren’t afraid, she wouldn't let you in."

Now she could roughly guess Ji Zhiyi’s plan.

That was why her attitude towards her wasn't the same as before.

Chu Yi sighed.

Su Lingyue said, "Don't worry, she won't do anything to me."

Chu Yi didn't believe it and whispered, "She already threatened you."

Su Lingyue said, "I can threaten her too."

Sis.

What are you talking about?

Chu Yi suspected that Su Lingyue had gone crazy.

Su Lingyue wasn't crazy. She hung up the phone, found her pajamas, and then leisurely entered the bathroom. She filled the bathtub with water. She was submerged and relaxed all over. As she was enjoying herself, she suddenly heard the sound of the cat scratching at the door.

She had forgotten.

The door was closed.

The cat couldn't get in.

She ignored it. However, she heard a piercing creaking sound. She held her breath and sat up in the water. Then she heard a knock on the door. Ji Zhiyi called, "Assistant Su?"

Su Lingyue laid back down in the tub and said, "President Ji, please open the door for me."

With a click,

The door opened. The cat rushed in. The bathroom door was also closed. Not wanting to hear the sound of its paws scratching at the door, she simply stepped out of the bathtub and went to the door. She opened the door and quickly returned to the bathtub. The movements were so fast and smooth.

The cat also squeezed into the room. The door was open. Su Lingyue peeked out but didn’t see Ji Zhiyi. She probably wasn't in her room anymore.

Ji Zhiyi was on the phone outside.

She heard the person on the other end say, "I'm going to Su Qi tomorrow morning to officially terminate the contract."

Ji Zhiyi asked, "What time?"

Lin Fei said, "Nine o'clock."

Ji Zhiyi said, "I understand."

Lin Fei didn't hang up the phone. She still wanted to wait for the other side to say something, but Ji Zhiyi didn't say anything. She said faintly, "Then I’ll contact you later."

And hung up the phone.

She bit her lip.

And lowered her head.

She fiddled with her phone.

Her assistant approached and whispered, "Feifei, are you really going to terminate your contract with Su Qi?"

Lin Fei said, "Yeah."

There was no doubt about that. Over the past two years, Su Qi had secretly disparaged her, lowered her endorsement fee, and even made her go to fashion shows as a model, wearing bikinis and high heels. She had endured it all. Back then, after all the other partners terminated their contracts, Su Qi still didn't abandon her. She remembered that kindness. She was thinking of ending their collaboration on good terms, and give each other dignity.

Dignity.

She wanted dignity, but Su Qi didn't think that way.

She found out that the reason other partners terminated their contracts back then was because Su Qi had intervened, fearing that she wouldn't be able to make a big deal out of her injury news, and that they couldn't act as her only ‘savior,’ so they had cut her off from a lot of opportunities in collaboration with other companies.

When the evidence was presented one by one, she realized how foolish she had been before.

She wanted to leave the company, but the contract hadn't ended, and she was faced with huge compensation fees. At this time, someone said that they could help her, that she could both leave Su Qi and not have to pay a single cent to terminate the contract.

That person was Ji Zhiyi.

She didn't want to jump out of the wolf's den only to jump into the fire. But she inexplicably trusted Ji Zhiyi.

She was already at rock bottom. If her agency were to continue treating her like this, she probably wouldn’t have any hope of making a comeback in this lifetime. So, she decided to cooperate with Ji Zhiyi.

Her assistant's expression was worried: "Then the boss will definitely not be happy."

Last year, the boss had replaced her manager. Lin Fei now realized that he hadn't been replaced. He had just been told to take Lin Fei's resources and use them to promote a new artist. Every time there were groups that wanted to collaborate with her, they would push the new artist in instead.

She scoffed: "I want to make him angry."

The angrier he was, the more he would lose his reason. The more he lost his reason when she talked about terminating the contract, the more successful she would be.

She believed that tomorrow would be a new beginning for her.

Lin Fei looked at the dark night outside the window. The stars were scattered and distant, hanging high in the sky, unattainable.

Ji Zhiyi had been looking up at the sky. She heard the cat meow, and she turned her head. Su Lingyue had already finished showering. She was standing behind her, wearing a long, milk-white pajama set. A dry towel was wrapped around her wet hair. She was holding the cat and had come out of the room. Her face was flushed from the heat.

Seeing Ji Zhiyi standing by the window, Su Lingyue also subconsciously glanced outside. There weren’t many stars, and the night sky wasn't particularly bright.

What was she looking at?

She didn't ask.

She just turned her head and went into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of ice water. The cat curiously sniffed around her glass. Then it scurried away. A shadow came over her. Su Lingyue looked up and saw Ji Zhiyi standing in front of her. She picked up the cup: "Do you want to drink?"

Ji Zhiyi didn't say whether or not she wanted to drink. Instead, she took the initiative to say, "I’m sorry."

Su Lingyue choked.

She was a bit uncomfortable.

She touched her ear, not knowing whether it was because she had been in the water for too long, but it felt a bit hot.

Ji Zhiyi's formal apology caught her off guard. After swallowing some ice water, she said, "It's..."

She bit her lip.

She took another sip of water: "It’s nothing."

But the atmosphere was still awkward.

She tipped her head back and gulped down the water, placed the cup on the table, turned around, sat on the sofa, and hugged the bolster. The cat also came over and snuggled into her arms. Su Lingyue heard footsteps behind her. She lowered her head and petted the cat.

The dry towel hadn’t been wrapped tightly. It loosened. Her wet hair fell to her back. She reached out to wrap the towel around her wet hair again. Ji Zhiyi sat in the chaise lounge. She raised her head and saw Su Lingyue's slender wrist. Her skin was as fair as jade. The sleeves of her pajamas hung down below her elbows, revealing a long stretch of her arm.

It wasn't like she hadn't seen her wearing a sleeveless dress before.

But the feeling was different now.

A spark emerged from the bottom of her heart.

She wasn't paying attention.

It quickly turned into a fire.

Ji Zhiyi shifted her position. Her heart beat rapidly against her eardrums.

Su Lingyue, who had tied up her wet hair, felt that the atmosphere was strange. It had been strange ever since Ji Zhiyi had apologized. She felt uncomfortable. She decided to break the silence: "President Ji."

Ji Zhiyi felt a tickle in her heart, her ears feeling numb.

She hadn’t even blown in her ears!

Ji Zhiyi pursed her lips, her jawline tight, and she looked down, acting nonchalant: "What is it?"

Su Lingyue said, "Do you not have anything that you’re afraid of?"

Ji Zhiyi looked up at her.

After a few seconds, she said, "Yes."

Su Lingyue perked up. She couldn't help but move closer, and asked curiously, "What?"

Ji Zhiyi smelled a faint fragrance. Su Lingyue had tilted her head, and her neck looked beautiful and alluring. The fire from before suddenly surged back up and her heart beat wildly against her eardrums. Ji Zhiyi was silent for two seconds, then said, half-truthfully, "You."

I am afraid that you would know of my joy.

And afraid that you wouldn’t know.

Su Lingyue, hearing Ji Zhiyi’s words, thought that she was annoyed by her being a troublemaker, and that was why she was afraid. She twitched her mouth and sat back on the sofa, looking as if she didn't want to talk to her.

Ji Zhiyi also didn't speak.

Only the calico cat was running around the living room, like a wild horse that had broken free. Then, with a sudden stop, it couldn't stop and collided with the coffee table. It then sat beside the coffee table for a long time, trying to recover.

Silly cat.

Su Lingyue wanted to laugh.

She held it back. She glanced at Ji Zhiyi and saw that she was looking at her tablet. She couldn't help but smile and secretly took a picture and sent it to Chu Yi.

Chu Yi opened it and sighed: [Ji Zhiyi’s legs are so long.]

What legs?

Su Lingyue opened the photo. Ji Zhiyi was sitting on the chaise lounge, leaning against it, looking down at the tablet. The calico cat was sitting beside her. She hadn't noticed that her legs had been caught in the photo.

She lowered her head to type: [You’re missing the point.]

Chu Yi: [Are you talking about the cat? Is this the cat you’re raising?]

Su Lingyue: [Cute, right?]

Chu Yi had never studied cats, because she was allergic to cat hair, so she usually looked at cat pictures online. In her eyes, all cats were the same, but: [Cute, very cute!]

Chu Yi: [What breed is it? It looks pretty smart.]

Su Lingyue: [It’s very stupid. It just bumped into the coffee table.]

Chu Yi scrolled up.

An hour ago, she was still saying that she had been threatened by Ji Zhiyi.

Why did the topic change so drastically?

Chu Yi asked carefully: [Are you Su Lingyue?]

When Su Lingyue saw this, she was silent for a few seconds. Then she realized what she had done, and she called Chu Yi. She turned her head and walked towards her room.

Ji Zhiyi heard the footsteps getting further and further away. She moved her numb legs. Then she met the calico cat’s gaze, and she smiled.

Silly cat.

The cat jumped onto the sofa, and its tail brushed against her hand, teasing her. Ji Zhiyi grabbed it and played with it for a while.

Su Lingyue leaned against the bed as she talked with Chu Yi. Hearing her ask a series of questions, she said, "Actually, Ji Zhiyi is pretty good."

She had even apologized to her.

The person on the other end of the phone was silent.

Chu Yi: ...

You’ve been kidnapped, just tell me.

But Su Lingyue hadn't been kidnapped. On the contrary, she was very relaxed. She said, "Don't worry about me, she won't do anything to me."

This was the second time she had heard these words today.

The first time, Chu Yi had assumed she was just comforting herself.

But the second time was different.

She said, "Did you and Ji Zhiyi reach an agreement?"

Su Lingyue thought about it.

An agreement?

No.

But also...

She said, "More or less."

Chu Yi’s heart finally returned to its place. If there was an agreement, then that was good. It meant that there was room for negotiation. What she feared most was the silent torture, where you didn’t even know how you would die.

Although she felt that Ji Zhiyi probably wouldn’t be that cruel.

Su Lingyue said, "Okay, I'm hanging up. "

Chu Yi asked, "When are you coming back?"

Su Lingyue thought about it.

Actually, Ji Zhiyi hadn’t asked her to go to the study to sort things out. However, without deciding on a spokesperson, she probably wouldn't let her leave. Su Lingyue said, "In a while."

She needed to have a good talk with Ji Zhiyi.

Chu Yi sighed in relief, "Okay, then call me if anything happens."

Su Lingyue gave an "okay" and hung up.

She rolled over in bed, looking towards the door. The door was open, so her view was unobstructed. She could directly see Ji Zhiyi sitting on the sofa, but they were a bit far apart. She could only see her head.

Was she playing with the cat?

Or looking at her tablet?

Thinking about how she had been paying attention to Lin Fei's movements online, she couldn't help but pick up her phone to browse Weibo. Lin Fei's news had already been suppressed. She only saw a few marketing accounts posting about it. She randomly clicked on one. The comments had gone from being mixed to expressing sympathy for Lin Fei.

They felt sorry that she had been in hiding for the past two years. That she didn't have any projects.

That an actress with talent and skills didn’t have any resources.

They were expressing their regret.

They even dug out Lin Fei's previous projects, and they were trending. After watching a few clips, Su Lingyue couldn't help but agree with those in the comments: she was still very talented.

But it was such a pity.

As she was scrolling through Weibo, she glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw Ji Zhiyi get up. She pretended not to notice and continued playing on her phone. Ji Zhiyi's figure passed by her door. The cat followed behind her.

What a little trouble.

She smiled.

Then she heard scratching at a door.

Whether it was due to a conditioned reflex or something else, just hearing it once or twice made her shiver. She quickly got out of bed to check whether Ji Zhiyi had closed the door.

Ji Zhiyi hadn't.

The cat was standing in front of the door that had never been opened and was scratching at it.

Hearing footsteps, it turned its head to look at Su Lingyue, as if indicating for her to open the door.

Su Lingyue, thinking about what Zhang Xian had said, quickly picked it up and said, "Don't even think about it!"

The cat meowed, looking wronged.

Ji Zhiyi walked to the door. Su Lingyue had already returned to her room with the cat.

She stood in front of that door and used her watch to unlock it. With a "beep", the door opened.

Ji Zhiyi walked in.

It had been a long time since she had come in here.

There wasn't anything special inside.

They were all her design drafts.

But the protagonist of the design drafts was only one person.

They were all of Su Lingyue.

From the pile of discarded documents on the table to the corners, everything concerning Su Lingyue was hidden away. Ji Zhiyi sat on the chair. There were many photos beside her hand.

Su Lingyue didn't really like to post selfies, but there were group photos from the events that she had attended. On the very bottom was a graduation photo from high school that she had paid her high school classmate to get. Su Lingyue was standing in the middle, towards the back. She could see her with just one glance.

The second one was her admission photo.

It was hers.

That day, standing at the university entrance, her parents were worried and told her to take a picture. She wanted to just randomly take one, but she saw Su Lingyue getting out of the car.

The camera was on her, but the focus was on Su Lingyue who was not far away.

She looked at the photos one by one.

Ji Zhiyi knew.

These were her sleeping pills.

When she first went abroad, from the food to the communication, nothing was easy. She had started suffering from insomnia and had to take many sleeping pills. She had thought about not being able to continue, and about admitting defeat to her godmother, and wanting to return home.

But she hadn’t.

She knew that even if she returned home, she would still just be a classmate who brushed past Su Lingyue.

She was a speck of dust that Su Lingyue could casually brush away.

They didn't even have a chance to get to know each other.

She began to look at these photos. Every time when she thought she couldn’t continue, when she had insomnia, when she was creating, every time she missed Su Lingyue the most...

Ji Zhiyi held the photos.

She opened the drawer and placed them inside.

She sat there silently for half an hour. Then, she walked out and closed the door.

Outside the door, Su Lingyue heard the sound and looked up. She saw Ji Zhiyi return to the living room. The cat, hearing the sound, struggled free from her arms and ran towards Ji Zhiyi. She looked down at the cat, unable to distinguish who its real owner was. Then she put on her slippers and walked out.

Ji Zhiyi turned her head to look at her, signaling for her to come sit on the sofa.

Su Lingyue tossed her wet hair and walked towards her. She sat down, and turned to look at Ji Zhiyi.

Up close, her features were even more defined.

Like a mixed-race child.

Too defined, and her looks might be visually misleading. Indeed, beauty could be very deceptive.

Su Lingyue moved a little further away.

Ji Zhiyi glanced at her movement and asked, "Are you afraid of me?"

"No." Su Lingyue looked calm, explaining her earlier actions, "I just thought you didn't like people being too close."

Ji Zhiyi pursed her lips: "When did I ever say I didn't like it?"

Su Lingyue asked back, "Then do you like it?"

Ji Zhiyi was silent for a bit.

She didn't continue that topic.

Instead, she said, "Tomorrow, you go find Yang Zhizhi and take the contract, but..."

"But don't sign it." Su Lingyue finished Ji Zhiyi's sentence, "It’s best to let Zhou Yan or Zhou Shiyu find out."

She smiled sweetly: "Right, President Ji?"

Her earlier guesses were now being confirmed step by step.

Actually, she had originally intended to have a good talk with Ji Zhiyi, but she had wanted to wait until the issue with the spokesperson was over. However, she really wasn't someone who could keep quiet, so it was better to be straightforward.

It was better to have a showdown.

Ji Zhiyi tilted her head to look at her. Su Lingyue didn't avoid her gaze. Her eyes were bright, her expression calm, but with a hint of reason and indifference. She had once again returned to her calm self.

Ji Zhiyi said, "What if that’s the case."

Su Lingyue said, "If that's the case, then you'd have me drag it out. You'd drag it out until Zhou Yan couldn't help himself. He is impatient, likes to do things in a high-profile manner, and likes to show off. As long as you can drag it out until he starts bidding, right?"

Ji Zhiyi was silent for two seconds and then nodded.

Seeing this, Su Lingyue moved closer, and pressed on, "President Ji, you actually don’t hate me at all, right?"

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